It’s been five years in the making, but this August, the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex was finally completed. A practice arena for the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins, the brand new facility will provide a home for more than just the city’s pros.
With two sheets ready to go, the Penguins organization will also prepare for its inaugural season of the Penguins Adult League. And with a name like Pittsburgh Penguins attached, you can guarantee that it will be top notch.
Mark Shuttleworth, manager of the Penguins Adult League, tells us what players can expect from the new league and the new facility.
USA Hockey: Pittsburgh is a pretty hockey-centric place. How come there was no official Penguins Adult League offered before?
Mark Shuttleworth: We didn’t have our own practice facility like Pittsburgh does now. We had one, but not one that we owned and controlled as much. We would rent from other places for adult leagues, but nothing that was really ours. Once we had this space (at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex), we knew that we wanted an adult league. We control the ice, so we are really able to do everything we wanted to.
USA Hockey: The Penguins Adult League will be offering a guaranteed 12 regular season games, plus playoffs. That’s longer than most leagues in the area. Why did you guys set that number?
Mark Shuttleworth: We wanted to make our adult league season stand out among the rest in the area. We looked at what a few other places around the nation were doing and what some of our local rinks had and saw that many of them offered 8-10 regular season games. Now that’s a great number, but we thought why not extend that and offer 12 regular season games plus playoffs? Doing that gives adults a few more games and I think it’s something we’re really going to see players in our league enjoy.
USA Hockey: It must be working. You guys have already seen teams champ at the bit to get in …
Mark Shuttleworth: The response from our adult hockey community was immediate. We had nine registered teams in the first 24 hours, and in roughly two weeks, we already have 23 teams. We are populating four different divisions and I am getting inquiries about the league every day. We have the game-night capacity for 32 teams, so everyone can play once a week. I see no problem in being able to fill that number, and maybe even look at expanding it if we can get more ice time.
USA Hockey: The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is quite the arena. What can players expect playing in such a high-end rink?
Mark Shuttleworth: I think for a lot of these guys, they’re going to feel like they are stepping their game up when they play here. For starters, the locker rooms are pretty spacious, much bigger than they are likely used to. Everything is shiny and new which is always nice.
We want the guys to understand the quality of our rink. We want it to be so that you can have fun at hockey tonight, and still go to work tomorrow. We weren’t looking to be just another place where you come in and trudge back out. We want our players to feel like it’s their home and to make it a special place to play hockey. We want to show them that we value them, not just as customers, but also as hockey players. We want to create that appreciation through all of our divisions.
USA Hockey: To officially kick things off you guys are hosting a USA Hockey Captains Party. What’s that event all about?
Mark Shuttleworth: I’m really looking forward to that and I’m so glad that (USA Hockey’s Adult Hockey Senior Director) Ashley (Bevan) offered to do that. I think it will be a really great event and an opportunity to just explain to our players why we are involved with USA Hockey. Doing that and being a part of USA Hockey as a league and as players, you’re giving back to our youth teams and are a part of the governing body as a whole.
USA Hockey: But it’s not all shoptalk right? Labatt Blue sponsors the party after all …
Mark Shuttleworth: (Laughs) Not at all. Players will get a grand tour of the new facility with a reception including food and adult beverages along with some other things going on while questions are answered and information is given out.
USA Hockey: And it will be another great way for players of all levels to get involved in the new league too, right?
Mark Shuttleworth: Exactly. You get to know the people involved and get to be around hockey people and the hockey culture. There is something that is just so unique about the hockey community. It’s comprised of so many good people. I have found that hockey people are people who, despite it being an emotional game, are just here having fun. Hockey is something where I think that if you love the sport, you can build those relationships with people who play the sport. You become a part of it.
Tag(s): News
